A conference phone device typically includes built-in microphones to capture voices from conference participants. The built-in microphones may have a strong bias to pick up voices of those conference participants who are located near the built-in microphones. In some instances, external microphone devices such as satellite microphones, etc., can be used in conjunction with the conference phone device to capture voices at various distances from the conference phone device.
A satellite microphone may include a mute button and a light emitting diode (LED) on its outer surface. When the satellite microphone is muted by a conference participant pressing the mute button, the LED may emit light. To reduce interference with voice capturing, the mute button and the LED may be small. Dexterity may be required to locate and press the small mute button in an assured manner to mute the call and cause the small LED to glow. Since an LED is typically small and geometrically confined, even nearby conference participants may fail to notice the glowing of the LED, depending on angles and locations of the conference participants relative to the LED, etc.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section. Similarly, issues identified with respect to one or more approaches should not assume to have been recognized in any prior art on the basis of this section, unless otherwise indicated.